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During the early 1840s, Turner travelled
to Switzerland almost every year. He made lengthy tours of its lakes and
alpine valleys. On all these journeys he sketched extensively, sometimes even working on the spot in colour. However, he usually preferred to add colour to
his pencil outlines later, indoors.

Many of these studies, including this sheet, were once part of soft-bound sketchbooks that were only broken
up after Turner's death. Although this image can be related to a specific
place, Turner seems more concerned
with creating a balance between the various intense colours.